John Legend certainly has his hands full taking care of his two children!

In a hilarious video shared by the 39-year-old singer’s wife Chrissy Teigen on Friday, Legend patiently tries to burp the couple’s 6-week-old son Miles Theodore as their daughter Luna Simone, 2, loses her balance while sitting on her father’s shoulders — and grabs onto his face so she doesn’t slip any further.

“Ahh, good burp, good burp,” Legend says while all of this action is taking place around him, as Teigen can be heard laughing in the background.

Alongside a photo of herself holding her two children, the 32-year-old cookbook author joked about the struggle that comes with having two children under the age of three and trying to get the perfect family Instagram photograph.

“Should I post the one where his head looks unsupported but my face looks good and Luna is over it, the one where his head is supported but my face is just okay and Luna is over it, or him crying and my face looks okay and luna is over it?” she wrote in the caption.

Since welcoming the couple’s second child in May, both Legend and his wife have been taking some time off from work in order to spend more time with their family.

“There’s a lot of family days,” Legend told PEOPLE last month. “We’ve been home a lot. We haven’t been working much at all. I’ve barely been working and Chrissy hasn’t really been working at all, and so we spend a lot of time at home. We just enjoy each other’s company.”

“A lot of it’s just the nuts and bolts of making sure Miles is fed. Making sure he sleeps well. Making sure we burp him. Making sure we change his diaper. It’s just the practical everyday things of being a parent, and so we’re immersed in that time in his life right now,” he added.

RELATED VIDEO: John Legend Leaves BBMAs Early & Assures Chrissy Teigen He’ll Be Home for Dinner After She Hilariously Roasts Him on Twitter

Legend also added that Luna is really taking to her role as a big sister.

“She tries to play with him. She takes care of him too. She’ll feed him. She’ll pat his little head. She’s very loving with him,” he remarked.

For much more on Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs’ life as a dad and his plans for the future, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

But just as Smalls (born Christopher Wallace) was gearing up for the release of his second album in early 1997, he was murdered on March 9 after leaving an industry after party with Combs, whose new film Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story(produced by Live Nation and available now on Apple Music) shares how Biggie’s death fueled the tight family at the label.

“You get guilt when you lose a friend,” says Combs, who’s a father of six. “It could’ve been you. You have to deal with that. It’s a heavy thing.”

“His son is grown up, mature, classy just a great person,” says Combs. “To see that we had a loss but it all worked out, it took some of the stress . I was able to pass the legacy to him and now he can carry it on.”

“Gilmore Girls” star Alexis Bledel can next be seen in Hulu’s upcoming “Handmaid’s Tale,” which she calls “an absolute dream role.” Bledel stars opposite Elisabeth Moss as Ofglen, a fellow handmaid and companion. At first, Ofglen seems like a pious rule-follower, loyal to the oppressive Gilead system, but she turns out to be daring and… Read more »

It’s Kim’s wedding day, and just before the ceremony, she confesses to her maid of honor that she has always wanted to fuck her Daddy. When the father of the bride overhears their conversation, he is not about to let his hot daughter get married before fulfilling her fantasy to feel his cock buried deep in her fertile pussy. EXCERPT:”You look absolutely stunning, Kim. You are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen.” Daddy said to me, kissing the top of my head. “Thanks, Daddy,” I nuzzled into his neck. “Can I talk to you about something?” I looked up into Daddy’s eyes.”Of course, my darling. Anything.” Daddy said, in his deep, reassuring voice. I didn’t know how to begin. I was silent a moment, while I gathered the courage to tell my Daddy that I wanted him to fuck me on my wedding day.”What is it, sweetheart?” Daddy asked gently. He trailed a finger over my collarbone, and then let his finger trace a trail over my cleavage. His touch made me wet, and I nervously bit my lip. He looked at me intensely, as if he could read my mind. I stalled, trying to find the right words. Then Daddy spoke again, “Do you need something from me, baby?”I looked into his eyes and nodded. “Badly.” I said, my voice sounding involuntarily seductive.”Something that you’re afraid to ask me for?” Daddy went on. I nodded.”I heard you and Cassie talking in here a few minutes ago.” Daddy said in a low voice, directly into my ear. My eyes widened, and I felt my face flush with embarrassment. He clutched his hard cock through his trousers and pressed it against my pelvis, letting me feel his hardness through my wedding gown. “Is this want you want from me?” His voice was nearly a growl. I swallowed hard and nodded, “Yes, Daddy. Please.” I said, just above a whisper.

‘This morning I found this bag. I had been looking for sweets. I put my hand in the bag and felt a sticky liquid on my fingers, then I looked at it. A red smear. Then I looked in the bag: bloody knives and clothes. It didn’t feel good. What did it mean? I don’t know. There are no answers; I daren’t ask the questions’Growing up in poverty in London’s East End, Kathy was eight years old when her father forced her mother into prostitution. When their mother fled, leaving Kathy and her sisters behind, the girls stuck fiercely together while being passed from children’s homes to boarding schools. Then, on a rare trip home, Kathy looked out the window to see a man firing four shots into a Rolls-Royce. It took several seconds for her to realise the victim was her mother’s lover, and the gunman was her father. Kathy began her haunting memoir when, as an adult, she travelled back to London, to find out who her gangster father really was. A compelling memoir of an extraordinary childhood, Dance for your Daddy is a true story of the effects on one family of poverty and affluence, violence and love.

This is the emotionally enriching and absolutely true story of two senior citizens, a young baby boy, an unusual governmental program that you probably have never heard of before, and an international adoption. It resulted in the father being charged with felonies in criminal court in one country, and threatened with the same charge in another. It may make you laugh, make you cry, shake your head in disbelief, have you gritting your teeth with frustration, angry at uncaring bureaucrats while at the same time delighted with a few helpful government employees, as well as feeling several other emotions unique to you, but you won’t be bored. For instance, some of the events border on the paranormal, so be prepared for some unexplainable things. You may not be awe-struck by them afterward, but will you be able to easily shrug them off as mere coincidence? Are there things unknown in your philosophy, Horatio? So fix yourself a martini (perhaps even a pitcher) and some popcorn, then get out your crying towels, punching bag, and confetti. Because although this is a tale of truly incredible good fortune, it is also an emotional roller-coaster ride. Spoiler alert: despite all odds, it has a happy ending. At least, so far.

Let me explain. From my earliest recollections, adults, when first meeting me, would invariably ask the question, “Do you know who your father is?” The query came from musicians and fans alike. I didn’t really understand the question at first, because the answer seemed so obvious. My father was my daddy. Of course, they would follow up with statements like, “You know he’s a genius,” which really meant nothing to a five- or ten-year-old. They would add proclamations like, “He changed the music,” and/or “His music will be here for the next 300 years.” That also meant absolutely nothing to me. However, though I couldn’t imagine 300 years, I could imagine one. So when told he would be a bigger name in 50 years, that did seem like a long, long time from then, so I chalked it up to nonsense, in my own toddling way. It seemed to me that in fifty years, I would be an old man — and surely dad would’ve been forgotten by then.

In my early teen years, having by then seen a lot of major artists come and disappear into obscurity, I was convinced these proclamations from ardent fans were pure hyperbole. But at fifteen, I began my love affair with drums. My understanding and views of music changed, and I clearly realized dad was a true badass. But so were his buddies Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, and, of course, Max Roach (my teacher), and many others. I was clear on the huge influence of artists like Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker, and the impact they made on western music. I figured dad was definitely in the crowd, but I also noticed that even those greatest of artisans pretty much said the same things about my dad.

Now you must understand that to me, Thelonious Sphere Monk was just daddy. He took me and my sister, Boo Boo [nickname], everywhere, and taught me how to treat girls, spin tops and change my sister’s diapers, among many other things — he did all of that Mr. Mom stuff. I can’t recall even one time in my life when I ever called him Thelonious, or Monk, or pop, or anything other than daddy. I was far more focused on getting a chance to play with him, than who he was to the world.

My first real clue about how admired my father was as a musical innovator came on the occasion of my mother’s birthday. My dad decided the family should go see Duke Ellington and his orchestra at the Rainbow Grill in the Waldorf Astoria. When we entered the packed supper club, the band was wailing. With the colorful lighting, it all looked magical. And a magical moment it was. Without hesitation, Duke Ellington stopped his orchestra abruptly, went to the microphone and said “Ladies and gentlemen, the baddest left-hand in the history of our music (obviously alluding to Thelonious’ harmonic innovations) just came in — Thelonious Monk.” There was a huge roar, and I knew this was special stuff. This was Duke Ellington talking, the Duke — the greatest jazzman I knew.

Soon after that, in the summer of my nineteenth year on earth, it happened. It was 1969, the year of my enlightenment. I was still living with my parents, and practicing my drums seven or eight hours a day. I was dedicated, focused and broke.

Thelonious Monk performing with Art Blakey (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns/Getty)

When my dad was home from touring, he would lay his head on his headboard resting against a wall that was, maybe, eight inches thick, with me practicing right on the other side. From the day I started practicing, until I was twenty years old, he never said a word about my playing, but that’s another whole story.

I was in my own world. There were no listening restrictions in the Monk household, so I was listening to dad, Duke, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, the Supremes, and Frank Sinatra — everything, no limits. Then along came the music industry’s move from Hi-Fi to stereo. I wanted a stereo, and decided to build one myself. I went to Lafayette Electronics in downtown Manhattan and purchased parts to build a speaker, though I was not fully familiar with the needs of a stereo system, I purchased parts for only one speaker — a profoundly knuckle-headed move. However, on that hot summer day, I chose to build that one speaker, despite my technical mistake. Once it was completed, I needed to test it, but had a dilemma. It was big, 15 inches, plus a huge wooden cabinet. I wanted to go big. I was afraid to play a loud pop record, like my new Sly and the Family Stone album or something from a Motown group, but I wanted something I could turn up so I could hear this new speaker but not blow it up. So I decided on a quiet, smaller sounding group — a trio record by my father. I can clearly remember lying down with my ear to the speaker and pressing the button for the automatic changer to drop the record. It was a recording that featured Art Blakey on drums and the great bassist, Oscar Pettiford, filling out the trio. They were playing my father’s composition, “Work.” I had never heard it before. It is one of his most difficult improvisational vehicles. I could easily hear it, but it was so difficult and different that I was amazed. I was savvy enough to tell it was special, extremely special.

It was so special, I couldn’t stop playing the melody over and over for the next hour, and the melody was only about a minute long. I was stunned at the genius of his rhythm, his harmonics and his precision. It all came together for me that hot summer afternoon. Right then, I realized that the guy resting in the room next to me, and listening to my practicing, was, in fact, a timeless genius named Thelonious Monk, the man that changed the music — the man everyone had been talking about all my life. My dad was Thelonious Monk. And that was my name too. And it was humbling.

My life changed just like the music. He’d done it to me too. That fifty-year thing was clearly conservative, since I’m now 65, and I see the 300-year thing is truly possible, if Beethoven and Mozart are any indicators. I got scared, but I got proud, and have been so ever since.

I could have been born on a hilltop in another country with nothing, but instead, I was born to Thelonious and Nellie, and given a wonderful heritage. How lucky was I. God bless you daddy. I know exactly who you are, and I will always love you! Happy Birthday!

Thelonious Sphere Monk, III (T.S. Monk) is an internationally acclaimed jazz drummer, bandleader, vocalist and arts educator. The son and musical heir to his father, the legendary jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk. He is the co-founder and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and he also heads the Thelonious Monk Estate. Contact him at Thelonious.s.monk@aol.com.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Simultaneously complacent in the security of a stable, married life and maddeningly preoccupied with the rearing of young children, many men have a tendancy to subordinate their physical well-being to the demands of family. Indeed, study after study has shown that men are more reluctant than women to face up to worrisome symptoms or go to the doctor for check-ups. Fat Daddy is designed to help busy fathers balance fitness and family in an informative, useful, and light-hearted way. Fat Daddy''s simple formula combines an easy-to-follow diet plan, high-intensity micro workouts, emphasis on daily activity that gets the blood flowng (like parking farther from the office), family fitness, and male-oriented humor. Filled with lively anecdotes from real-live Fat Daddies, the book will address the fitness fumbles that have become commonplace with today''s busy fathers. In Fat Daddy, fathers (and thier partners) will be able to recognize and guard against the usual fitness dilemmas encountered by young fathers, such as eating for two during pregnancy, more trips to the drive-in with the kids, those Saturday morning donut runs, and the all-too frequent (and fatty) business dinners. Throughout Fat Daddy, dads will be coached (using humor, pictures, and facts) on the new rules for fitness, which will come as a stark contrast to their free-eating 20s. Recurring icons, charts, sidebars, and boxes will keep the reader moving quickly through Fat Daddy''s 10 chapters, and its generally positive approach, lively and practical advice, and useful to-do lists will work together to inspire dads to take immediate steps to improve their overall fitness.
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Trendy long sleeve babies grow with a detailed design on the front, just below the envelope style neck opening. The added 3 nickel free poppers at the bottom ensure comfortable fit and easy changing providing more flexibility in the baby grow. Ideal for when you want to find the balance between practicality and fashion, these can either be used as a funky under baby vest or a trendy outfit with leggings. Comes carefully gift wrapped in our exclusive Spoilt Rotten Milk Carton packaging. You wouldn?t put chemicals on your skin, so why have chemicals in your baby clothing? Spoilt Rotten have produced a range of baby clothes that are 100% Organic Cotton. No chemicals what so ever it used in our production process. NONE. Our Baby T-Shirts and Baby grows are made from a high quality 100% Organic cotton and abide by The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and The Soil Association Why do we choose Organic Cotton at Spoilt Rotten? Did you know that traditional Cotton is the second most pesticide-laden crop in the world? Five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton in the U.S. (cyanide, dicofol, naled, propargite and trifluralin) are well known as dangerous chemicals. Organic Cotton on the other hand is grown in certified pesticide-free and herbicide-free soil using organic farming methods, covered in the Global Organic Textiles Standard. A babies skin is 5 times thinner than our own, allowing toxins to penetrate much more easily. With organic cotton you can be sure that during production no harmful chemicals were used which also makes it less likely to trigger allergies. Organic Cotton is also softer, for your babies skin, as the fibres have not been damaged by the chemicals. The print on the front of the garments are also non-harmful and no chemicals are used. They are all individually printed to order so you can be sure of a high quality standard.

A trendy short sleeve baby t-shirt with a detailed design on the front, just below the envelope style neck opening. The envelope neck ensures a comfortable fit and easy changing providing more flexibility in the baby top. Ideal for when you want to find the balance between practicality and fashion, these can either be used as a funky under baby top or a trendy outfit with leggings. Comes carefully gift wrapped in our exclusive Spoilt Rotten Milk Carton packaging. You wouldn?t put chemicals on your skin, so why have chemicals in your baby clothing? Spoilt Rotten have produced a range of baby clothes that are 100% Organic Cotton. No chemicals what so ever it used in our production process. NONE. Our Baby T-Shirts and Baby grows are made from a high quality 100% Organic cotton and abide by The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and The Soil Association Why do we choose Organic Cotton at Spoilt Rotten? Did you know that traditional Cotton is the second most pesticide-laden crop in the world? Five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton in the U.S. (cyanide, dicofol, naled, propargite and trifluralin) are well known as dangerous chemicals. Organic Cotton on the other hand is grown in certified pesticide-free and herbicide-free soil using organic farming methods, covered in the Global Organic Textiles Standard. A babies skin is 5 times thinner than our own, allowing toxins to penetrate much more easily. With organic cotton you can be sure that during production no harmful chemicals were used which also makes it less likely to trigger allergies. Organic Cotton is also softer, for your babies skin, as the fibres have not been damaged by the chemicals. The print on the front of the garments are also non-harmful and no chemicals are used. They are all individually printed to order so you can be sure of a high quality standard.

Fatherhood is full of ups and downs, quirks and crises. But there is always humor to be found! Featuring 60 all new cartoons from Andy Riley, Beer Makes Daddy Strong shows the world just how great dads can be: Daddy knows all the best car games ( Who can stay quiet the longest? ), likes to show off his scars (that he may or may not have obtained while running with the bulls in Spain), and is a great cook (when Spaghetti Bolognese is on the menu). Witty and wise, this affectionate tribute is a celebration of fatherhood and all of its joys, confusion, humor, and, of course, beer. -Hardcover -March 2013 -64 pages
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Trendy long sleeve babies grow with a detailed design on the front, just below the envelope style neck opening. The added 3 nickel free poppers at the bottom ensure comfortable fit and easy changing providing more flexibility in the baby grow. Ideal for when you want to find the balance between practicality and fashion, these can either be used as a funky under baby vest or a trendy outfit with leggings. You wouldn?t put chemicals on your skin, so why have chemicals in your baby clothing? Spoilt Rotten have produced a range of baby clothes that are 100% Organic Cotton. No chemicals what so ever it used in our production process. NONE. Our Baby T-Shirts and Baby grows are made from a high quality 100% Organic cotton and abide by The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and The Soil Association Why do we choose Organic Cotton at Spoilt Rotten? Did you know that traditional Cotton is the second most pesticide-laden crop in the world? Five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton in the U.S. (cyanide, dicofol, naled, propargite and trifluralin) are well known as dangerous chemicals. Organic Cotton on the other hand is grown in certified pesticide-free and herbicide-free soil using organic farming methods, covered in the Global Organic Textiles Standard. A babies skin is 5 times thinner than our own, allowing toxins to penetrate much more easily. With organic cotton you can be sure that during production no harmful chemicals were used which also makes it less likely to trigger allergies. Organic Cotton is also softer, for your babies skin, as the fibres have not been damaged by the chemicals. The print on the front of the garments are also non-harmful and no chemicals are used. They are all individually printed to order so you can be sure of a high quality standard.

Do you love making gingerbread men but are tired of those ho-hum traditional styles of decorating? Then why not turn those edible men into — what else — leather daddies for your family this year?

This step-by-step tutorial uploaded to YouTube details how you can turn your favorite holiday cookie into a full-fledged leather daddy. The video comes from professional chef Sara Whittlesey and includes instructions on how to achieve that perfect icing jockstrap, harness and ball gag this Christmas.

It had been raining hard for the last week. It was supposed to be summer but the rain meant my summer had so far been very boring. I was supposed to be job hunting after finishing college but it hadnt been going to well. I had been looking online but kept getting distracted. First it was shopping, I brought some really sexy black underwear, lace with a satin panties (I just love the feeling of Satin on my clit). I then got even more distracted and started looking at the sex toys available. Just looking at them made me excited. I cant deny it, I like things hard and fast. One of my favourite things to do is to suck a guy off while he pleasures me with my vibrator. The toy I liked the look of best was gold but unfortunately had a price tag to match and did I mention I was looking for a job! The day my underwear arrived so did the sun! I slipped on my new panties (resisting fingering myself through the material), my new lace bra and a cute white sun dress. I decided to walk into town to see if there were any jobs going in local bars or shops.

Marshal Campbell, an 11 year old ranch hand, lives alone with his dad, Tex, in rural West Texas. He and his dog Boots, a furry red golden retriever mix, don’t need any help finding trouble in the rugged and sandy landscape. The hot summer day begins like any other, as Marshal and Boots feed the guineas and head out across the pasture looking for adventure. What they don’t know is that a rhumba of rattlesnakes awaits them, hissing and rattling like a Friday night drumroll. Their day-long adventure takes them into the next week, and the outcome is not guaranteed survival.

A long time ago (in what seems like it must have been a galaxy far, far, away), it was possible for someone to be coy about “daddy issues.” In the following clip, Mary Martin performs “My Heart Belongs To Daddy” (the Cole Porter song that made her famous following her Broadway debut in 1938’s Leave It To Me!). In her autobiography (My Heart Belongs) Martin confessed that at the time she was singing that song she was clueless about the true meaning of some of Porter’s lyrics.

In 1924, the popular comic strip, Little Orphan Annie, gave birth to a character known as Daddy Warbucks. In today’s sexual marketplace, the lexicon covering daddy issues has progressed far beyond a sugar daddy (which was also the name for a popular caramel candy that was ever so sweet to lick). Many single women will refer to a man as their “baby daddy” while gay men have seemingly mastered the linguistic art of using the word “daddy” as a term of endearment, empowerment, and a literary aphrodisiac.

Over the years, the question “Who’s Your Daddy?” has taken on new meanings in popular culture. Just as there are plenty of websites devoted to women seeking sugar daddy arrangements, gay men have become expert at seeking intergenerational relationships for fun or profit.

Bottom line? Lots of people have daddy issues. How those issues are portrayed on stage and screen found two new expressions in recent productions.

* * * * * * * * * *

If you’ve ever gone to an optometrist to get a prescription for corrective lenses, you’re familiar with the process of sitting in a chair while someone uses a phoropter to test different lenses in order to determine which will yield the clearest images.

A patient being measured with a phoropter

I mention this because, after attending the world premiere of Christina Anderson’s new play, Pen/Man/Ship, at the Magic Theatre, I had the strangest thought. Whereas Melville’s Captain Ahab went in search of a white whale, Anderson seemed to be sailing the southern Atlantic in search of a purpose (or perhaps a porpoise). The playwright frequently offers hints about her characters in the play’s script, but fails to develop them further or explain them clearly to the audience.

In a dialogue between the playwright and Magic’s dramaturg, Dori Jacob, that is printed in the program (appropriately entitled “Finding The Anchor”), Anderson describes how the project grew out of one of Paula Vogel’s “bake off” writing projects. Although she had never been on a ship, did not know how to swim, and wasn’t exactly sure where she was going, Anderson was interested in finding an African-American theme set in the Victorian era. “I consider myself a political writer,” she explains. “The only thing I knew was that I really liked the idea of having these people of color on a ship.”

At the time she was working on P/M/S, the trial of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin was dominating the headlines. The concepts of “Stand Your Ground” and “Tonight You Will Die” had an obvious impact on Anderson’s writing process. My guess is that a brief encounter with Herman Melville’s unfinished novella Billy Budd (in its prose, film, or operatic format) might have offered Anderson a stronger sense of shipboard life in an all-male environment.

In its current form, Pen/Man/Ship takes place in 1896 aboard a whaling ship bound from Boston to Liberia and focuses on the following four African-American characters.

Charles (Adrian Roberts) is an African-American surveyor who has chartered a ship and hired its crew for the long voyage to Africa. His employers are a group of businessmen who belong to the American Colonization Society and are planning to set up a penal colony in Liberia for blacks who are unruly or unhappy with life in America. Charles is a repressed soul who resents anyone challenging his authority. A devout Christian, he has prepared himself for the long transatlantic voyage by bringing on board a sizable supply of gin (which gives him almost as much solace as his Bible). A successful and educated African American, Charles considers himself as belonging to a social class far above the “beasts” who form the ship’s crew. He prefers to remain in his cabin, writing in his diary, praying, and drinking and refuses to go up on deck and mingle with the men he feels are his inferiors. Charles also resents the fact that Jacob and Ruby seem to be making friends with the sailors (who are more than happy to talk with them), which undermines his authority.

Jacob (Eddie Ray Jackson) is Charles’s son, who was caught in a police raid on “a brothel for fairies” and has shown up at the dock just before the ship’s departure with a strange woman who will accompany him on the long voyage. As much as his father tries to get Jacob to describe his relationship with Ruby, Jacob refuses to discuss the matter. He and Ruby spend a great deal of time together while at sea, although no one is really sure what they are doing. An amateur artist, Jacob likes to spend his spare time doing pencil sketches of the crew members (which, to say the least, flatter their masculinity). One of the sailors he has sketched is an amiable young man named Monty.

Ruby (Tangela Large) is a self-educated African American woman who answers to and is afraid of no man. She fled the South after it was discovered that she had been reading books belonging to her mistress. Had she not left quickly, she would have simply been another piece of “strange fruit” hanging from a tree. Ruby is determined to leave America (which has been a source of incredible shame and pain for her) and start a new life in Liberia as a free Black woman.

Cecil (Tyee Tilghman) is a member of the crew who plays an accordion for entertainment. He understands that he’s not like the rest of the crew and can’t comprehend why Charles has taken a liking to him. However, because Cecil’s father was an angry alcoholic, he recognizes the same symptoms in Charles’s increasingly worrisome mood swings.

Tyee Tilghman as Cecil in Pen/Man/Ship
(Photo by: Jennifer Reiley)

There are many plot points in Anderson’s script that, while qualifying as fanciful fictions, are downright ludicrous in terms of life at sea in a traditionally all-male environment.

What caused the captain’s sudden, unexplained death? Why wasn’t he buried at sea?

What makes Ruby so confident and willing to challenge authority?

Why would the ship’s crew turn to Ruby instead of the first mate for leadership after their captain’s death?

On the one night that Charles deigned to go for a walk on deck, why would he have pushed Monty overboard and stabbed himself so that he would look like a victim?

What are the hidden factors in the budding friendship between Charles and Cecil?

Because Anderson’s drama takes place on a sailing ship, it would be a cheap gag to suggest that the answers are blown in the wind. However, if one looks at her characters through a slightly different lens, some intriguing thoughts quickly present themselves as likely answers.

Charles has a near pathological hatred of women and was an uncaring husband as his wife lay dying (which might suggest a closeted gay man who married a woman in order to keep his sexual identity a secret). He may be guilt-ridden by the thought that something in him could have caused his son to be gay (it’s bad enough that paying Jacob’s bail cost him a pretty penny). When Charles hears Jacob talk about how friendly Monty has been — and when his son shows him the sketch he drew of Monty — it’s easy for Charles (who has been relying on a dangerous combination of gin and Jesus to pray and drink away the gay) to think of Monty as the devil. When Monty approaches him on deck (in what was most likely a friendly gesture), Charles instantly goes into “gay panic” mode.

Jacob is a young gay man who has lost a great deal of faith in the Bible. Although he loves his father and is extremely loyal to Charles, Jacob has learned how to stand his ground against his father’s bullying.

Ruby didn’t get to where she is by being helpless or depending on men for her happiness. She’s an intelligent, take-charge lesbian who sees through Charles’s delusions of grandeur and is primarily interested in getting to Liberia.

Cecil is the adult child of an alcoholic who is more than willing to see Charles as the father figure he never had. Charles is equally willing to see Cecil (who has expressed heterosexual tendencies) as the straight son he never had.

While Angrette McCloskey’s unit set necessitated some clumsy entrances and exits, Sara Huddleston’s powerful sound design helped give a strong sense of the ship’s creaking and groaning in response to the pressures of wind and waves. Under Ryan Guzzo Purcell’s stage direction, the four actors gave exceptionally strong performances, with special kudos for Adrian Roberts as the tortured Charles and Eddie Ray Jackson has his son, Jacob.

The question which remains in my mind, however, is whether or not (due to the influence of the Trayvon Martin case while she was working Pen/Man/Ship) Christina Anderson has unwittingly written a gay play. Here’s the trailer

* * * * * * * * * *

The first time I saw Alec Mapa perform live (“I Remember Mapa“), I was laughing so hard I was afraid I might choke on my own snot. The energetic Filipino-American stand-up comic (a native of San Francisco) likes to describe himself as “America’s Gaysian Sweetheart.” A popular performer at fundraising events, his quickness and wit have always allowed him to shine.

Now 48, a bit pudgier, and more than a little bit humbled by the chores and responsibilities of fatherhood, Mapa stars in a new documentary that was screened at the 2014 Frameline Film Festival. Entitled Alec Mapa, Baby Daddy, it chronicles the experience of Mapa and his husband (Jamison Hebert) in adopting an African American boy named Zion from Compton, California.

As a monologue, Alec Mapa, Baby Daddy received a Bistro Award and was nominated for GLAAD and United Solo awards for best off-Broadway solo show. While there are many touching moments in the film, few are quite as hilarious as Mapa’s impression of Julie Andrews trying to sing one of Miley Cyrus’s songs. And you won’t want to miss Mapa’s description of the day his newly-adopted son called him “you big, fat, Russian lady.” Mapa/s response? “Did you just call me fat?” Here’s the trailer:

What are a young brother and sister to do, when growing up in a “house divided?” A humorous take on the classic Alabama/Auburn college football rivalry is presented through the eyes of two young fans eager to navigate the often-turbulent waters known as “The Iron Bowl Day.” Spoofing the vintage style of classic children’s books, this hilarious book features richly-colored, hand-painted illustrations. Definitely not just for kids, this romp is for anyone who truly understands the unique challenges of a mixed Crimson Tide/Auburn Tigers household

Tune in for an all-new episode of Deion’s Family Playbook Saturday at 10/9c.
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The family takes a trip to a local restaurant for dinner—a rare outing for the Sanders bunch. Deion puts up a five dollar bill as a prize for whomever wins a round of “Daddy Says.” Who will the big winner be?